| Washington, D.C. - The House Financial Services Committee today approved an amendment offered by Congressman Brad Sherman, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism and Nonproliferation, to help stop lending by the World Bank to Iran.
Sherman’s amendment would require the President to use all available means at his disposal to stop disbursements on previously authorized World Bank loans to Iran, and would also provide for tough measures in the event that new loans are approved by the World Bank for Iran.
“Continuing this type of assistance when Iran is in the dock at the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program is madness,” Sherman said. “The Treasury Department and the Bush Administration overall has to do more to try to prevent the World Bank from disbursing one more penny to Iran until it abandons its nuclear weapons program.”
From 2000 to 2005 the World Bank approved some $1.35 billion in nine separate loans to Iran, some $670 million of which has not yet been disbursed.
Sherman’s amendment would require that the President terminate any contributions for three of the organizations within the World Bank Group in the event that a new loan is approved for Iran. U.S. contributions to the International Development Association, which is the World Bank entity which provides assistance to the poorest nations, would not be affected.
“We can convince Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program if they face absolute political and diplomatic isolation,” added Sherman. “I cannot think of anything that frustrates that policy objective more than World Bank loans to the regime in Tehran.”
Sherman’s amendment was added to the text of H.R. 6303, which authorizes funding for the International Development Association and makes reforms to U.S. participation in the World Bank and various multilateral lending institutions.
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